


The Fluffy Devil

by aheadfulloffollies



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Fluff, crookshanks being a vibe, just cuteness really, some teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:15:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27071833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aheadfulloffollies/pseuds/aheadfulloffollies
Summary: Hermione traps Ron and Crookshanks in the same room until they learn to get along.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley
Comments: 1
Kudos: 19





	The Fluffy Devil

“No, Ronald. Crookshanks did _not_ claw your pillows.”

Ron sputtered in indignation, entirely furious despite Hermione’s exasperation. “Who did it, then?! Who else could it be?”

She blushed beet red, knowing all too well that it really could only have been her but wanting so badly to defend her cat. She was so sweet; it wasn’t her fault Ron was in the habit of leaving every door he walked through open!

“I- I don’t know,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Maybe Pigwidgeon got out of-”

“ _ Pigwidgeon _ ?” he asked, very nearly holding back a laugh. “You think that tiny bird did this?” He gestured to the pillows that Hermione could really only describe as ravaged. She winced. Poor Crookshanks still seemed to hold a grudge against Ron for accusing her of eating Peter Pettigrew when he was still in rat form back in year three. They needed to make up, she decided. Her boyfriend and cat would learn to coexist, for her sake if nothing else.

“Fine,” she relented.”

“Ho-  _ fine _ ?!” Ron’s eyebrows shot up. He knew as well as anyone else- probably better, in fact- that Hermione Granger did not relent. She didn’t enjoy it now any more than she did under any other circumstance, but there was a bigger goal here than upholding her integrity. They both knew that at any point she could beat Ron in practically every measure, wit or otherwise, anyway. There was no need to prove it, although that was still a concept she was getting used to.

“Yes, Ron. Fine. I’ll get Crookshanks and tell her to apologize.” Ignoring Ron’s gaze, which was somehow even more incredulous than before, she started out of the bedroom.

“Get- Mione, you do realize it’s a cat? She can’t exactly speak.”

Hermione waved away the sentiment as she stepped out the room, letting her voice carry through the apartment. “She has her own way of communicating. You would know that, if you ever spent any time with her at all.” She marched back into the room, where Ron stood somewhat slack-jawed. Her furry companion lay in her arms, looking quite tired, an expression that only increased once she laid eyes on Ron. “You should really try better to get along.”

She placed Crookshanks carefully on the bed, where she casually kneaded her claws into the comforter, not taking her eyes off of Ron. “Oh, hush up,” she told the cat. “You know he’s not all bad. He did apologize for the whole Peter incident.”

Crookshanks mewled, her meaning clear. It simply wasn’t enough. Turning towards Ron once more with enough determination to make him flinch, she met his eye. He knew what happened when she got that look on her face.

“Now, you two are going to stay in this room together until you learn to get along.” Both made immediate noises of what Hermione wasn’t sure was disgust or simply protest, but it mattered not. They were going through with this.

“Mione,” Ron interrupted gently. “Do you really think this is necessary-”

“Ronald, I have saved your ass too many times to count since first year. You can handle learning to get along with my cat. Which, quite frankly, you should have already done. It’s been six years since I bought her and you still can’t stand to even tolerate her presence.

“Now, I am going to lock this door and listen in until you two have figured out all your problems. Work. It. Out.” She glared at each Ron and Crookshanks in turn before offering what she hoped was an encouraging smile and stalking out the door to complete silence. She locked the door, cast the enchantments, and took a deep breath.

This had to work. Crookshanks wasn’t a fluffy devil like Ron often called her, she was a fluffy badass with a heart of gold who just so happened to hold grudges. And Ron wasn’t an inconsiderate jerk as the cat regarded him, he was just an overly awkward sweetheart. Hermione wanted them to see in each other what she saw.

Was it too much to ask for her boyfriend and cat to live in peace?

As she wandered the apartment, tidying things as she saw fit (Ron had really never learned to take care of a house, though he was learning), she was met with a concerningly loud series of cussing and yowling. Sighing, she leaned her head back to rest it against the wall. Please let it not be too much to ask.  _ Please. _ She helped defeat Voldemort. A redhead and feisty cat couldn’t be worst than that, right?

_ Right _ ?!

“HERMIONEEE,” Ron wailed through the door. The nail-biting sound accompanying it informed her that Crookshanks had started scratching the door again.

“ _ NO _ , RONALD,” she shouted back, trying her best to hide the laughter from her voice. She wondered if she should phone Harry or Luna to have someone to talk to about this. It really was amusing, high stakes and emotional purpose aside.

After approximately fifteen minutes too long of more fighting behind the closed doors, Hermione finally heard Ron give in. “Alright, Crookshanks. Hermione clearly isn’t going to give up, so I guess we’re going to have to get along. Here’s what I- you fluffy little devil, stop-”

The near silence that followed was almost undoubtedly filled with wrangling and frustration, but Hermione waited eagerly. Finally, after one particularly exasperated sigh, Ron continued.

“Here’s what I propose. We get along. I’ll try not to bother you- what is it now? Oh, fine. I’ll treat you like an  _ equal _ , never mind that you’re a cat-  _ OW! _ ”

This time she couldn’t quite contain her laugh. “I HEARD THAT, HERMIONE,” came Ron’s bellowing reply, but she could hear the humor in his voice too.

“Alright, alright,” he continued, talking to Crookshanks once again. Hoping that this strange situation might soon be remedied, Hermione moved toward the kitchen to refill Crookshanks’s food and start preparing dinner. “I’ll treat you like an equal, and in return you won’t claw or bite or pee on any of my things. I won’t get in your way, and you won’t get in mine.”

Crookshanks’s responding meow was quiet enough that Hermione almost didn’t hear it. There was a small moment of silence before Ron spoke again. “You aren’t so bad, I guess. You look like a hairball and have the personality of a devil, but Hermione’s fond of you, and you’ve never been mean to her. We can bond on that, yeah? Maybe someday we’ll even be mates.”

This notion did not seem to please the cat, but Ron only laughed. “Too far. Alright, you fluffy devil.”


End file.
